The Cambridge EMS system, which includes the Cambridge Fire Department, Professional Ambulance (Pro EMS), the Cambridge Police, Cambridge Emergency Communications and the Cambridge Public Health Department, is pleased to announce that several of its individual providers were honored at the annual Metropolitan Boston EMS Council Region IV awards ceremony. Cambridge Firefighter Jeff McGourty and Professional Ambulance (Pro EMS) Director of Communications Stacy Harren were two award recipients, along with Bruce Trefry of Emerson Hospital and Cambridge Health Alliance emergency department nurse Elaine Valerio posthumously.

Jeff McGourty, a Cambridge firefighter and member of the Fire Dive Team, received the ALS Provider award for his part in rescuing and treating a bridge construction worker who was injured while working underwater on the bridge’s support columns.

Stacy Harren, Director of Communications at Pro EMS in Cambridge, won the Telecommunicator of the Year award. Harren led Pro EMS to becoming the first and only ACE-accredited EMS dispatch center in Massachusetts. In her three years at Pro EMS, Harren has provided training, education, and quality assurance monitoring to ensure that Pro EMS meets the standards of protocol-driven EMD, lifesaving pre-arrival instructions, and zero minute response times.

“Stacy has been a constant presence working to improve our Emergency Medical Dispatch function. Stacy has worked hard to serve as the first link in the chain in the EMS system by providing EMD and coordination during all responses,” said Bill Mergendahl, CEO of Pro EMS.

Bruce Trefry was recognized as an outstanding EMS administrator with the EMS Leader award. During his 30 year tenure at Emerson, Trefry served as field paramedic and Chief of Paramedic Service before becoming the current EMS Liaison.

“Bruce has worked tirelessly to improve patient care and safety while always keeping the needs of his patients and field providers as the top priorities,” said Mergendahl.

Although she passed away in November 2012, Elaine Valerio was recognized as EMS Nurse of the Year at this year’s award ceremony. Valerio was employed by the Cambridge Health Alliance for the past five years. She provided support, training and professional insight to every EMS field provider she encountered in her work.

“Elaine was an outstanding nurse dedicated to EMS and its providers. We were fortunate to have such an outstanding resource and friend as an EMS nurse,” said Mergendahl. “She loved to teach and that came through clearly to every paramedic student who visited her ER.”

The MBEMSC awards recognize the accomplishments of emergency medical services (EMS) providers who have made significant contributions within Region IV, which is comprised of 62 cities and towns in the Metropolitan Boston area. During this year’s award ceremony, which took place on November 7, 2013, Pro EMS produced a special video tribute to the first responders who treated victims at the Boston Marathon when two bombs exploded near the finish line last April.

About Metropolitan Boston Emergency Medical Services Council

The Metropolitan Boston Emergency Medical Services Council, Inc. (MBEMSC) is the agency designated by the DPH to coordinate the delivery of emergency medical services within the sixty-two cities and towns comprising the Metropolitan Boston Area. The Region IV area, which extends north as far as Wilmington and Littleton, west as far as Marlborough and Hopkinton, and south as far as Wrentham and Hanover, serves as residence to over 2 million people, and accounts for close to 1 million emergency department visits in the
Region’s hospitals each year. There are 70 licensed ambulance services and 25 acute care hospitals in the Region IV area.About Professional Ambulance Service

Professional Ambulance Service (Pro EMS) provides emergency medical services to the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts in conjunction with the Cambridge Fire, Police, Emergency Communications and Public Health Departments. Additionally, Pro EMS operates Emerson Paramedics and provides emergency medical services to Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Professional Ambulance has proudly served the citizens, students, and visitors of Cambridge for over 40 years. For more information, visit www.proems.com or call 617.492.2700.

Cambridge, May 15, 2015 — Cambridge Fire Department, along with PRO EMS of Cambridge, have jointly received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline®EMS Silver Award for implementing quality improvement measures for the treatment of patients who experience severe heart attacks.

When officers arrive to a medical emergency involving an overdose, it usually means the person is unconscious, according to Acton Police Department Sgt. Edward Lawton, a 22-year veteran of the department and a member of the its drug unit, formed in October 2012.